Fields of Lupine Flowers
by XrosaryX
Summary: Let us frolic through the fields hand in hand, may we stay connected even if the world sees us as villains. We give this world a hidden strength as we continue to go out in merriment together.
1. Chapter 1

_**Lupine flowers were named after 'lupinus' which means 'wolves' since in ancient times they were mistaken for taking the nutrients from the soil. However the flowers were helping enrich the soil by adding nitrogen. The flowers also symbolize imagination and can also mean inner strength to recover from trauma.**_

 _ **To clarify, yes this will have female!Akira and will feature a few ships here and there.**_

 _ **Disclaimer time: I DO NOT OWN ANYTHING PERTAINING TO THE PERSONA SERIES! IT BELONGS TO ATLUS!**_

 _ **Warnings for this chapter: Implied/Referenced drug use, use derogatory words towards a female, physical contact used to inflict pain to another person.**_

* * *

When she comes to she's so confused, distorted…

Her eyes squint about the room, trying to find something familiar through her blurred out vision. Had her eyes always been this bad? Where are her glasses?

There's a sort of heaviness in her head…As if someone had taken a hammer and continued to just strike every inch of the inside of her skull.

She's so tired…Dizzy…

Her whole body aches…

What happened?

She closes her eyes for a moment to try and remember…

Faint memories of bright lights and colors as well as the smell of metal and alcohol mixed in. She remembers hearing faint sounds similar to what you'd hear a slot machine make…

…A casino?

She tries to force herself to open her eyes to their fullest, but whines as she can feel the strain hurting her.

Her whole body hurts so much and she feels restrained by something. Something is around her wrists, but she can't figure out what it is. She shakes her head again and forces herself to hang her head forward. She has to ignore the pain and push through the fog…She has to remember…

"Nice work as always, Joker."

Voices…She can remember voices of people…She knows these are people she knew.

"Good. Now get running!" A young boyish voice manages to come through followed by voice of another male, "This is our only chance!"

"Stay calm! You can get away now!" A girl's voice cuts in as if trying to soothe her as another one a little more mature sounding comes right after, "We'll retrieve the briefcase on our end."

The pounding gets worse and she wants to curl up and…

"Just run! Get out of there!"

A girl's voice filled with urgency shoots through her head making her jolt up at attention, "Joker, behind you! Go through that door!"

Breathing becomes harder and she fidgets a bit to realize that she is sitting in a hard chair with her arms behind her back. She lets out a grunt as she tries to move herself and hisses as she feels a sharp pain run down her sides as she tugs a little too hard to get her arms to move.

"See ya."

Her own voice echoes in her head, and she recalls something…

Her lips turning up into a smirk as she gazes across the room to three men in suits as her fingers rise up in a mock salute just before she dives right through a window. She remembers the sounds of the glass shattering upon impact and the wind whistling as she goes through the air. Her hair and the ends of her trench coat flutter about her like flags…

She can hear the same voice that had been filled with urgency suddenly change to one that scoffs, "Huh. What a show-off. You're so reckless you know that?"

Oh god her throat hurts so much…

And her head….

She gently shakes her head and forces herself to swallow.

She remembers her back hitting the cold pavement as she landed down. She whines as she remembers voices chiming in suddenly once she hit the ground. Her own body growing heavy as she lets out a shaky gasp.

"Enemies here?!"

"What's wrong?!"

"These readings…It can't be!"

"What happened?!"

"An ambush?!"

"Joker! Can you handle this!"

"Joker!"

"Oh no!"

There's so many voices yelling at the same time that she barely has a moment to differentiate each voice. Her head is hurting more now and her eyelids can't stay open anymore…She wants to just lay down.

She remembers hands grabbing at her hair roughly and bright lights shining in her face as she's forced to look up at someone as their fingers grasp her thick curls tightly. There's a smirk on the man's face as he studies her before he speaks, "Didn't expect to find some little girl…You have your teammate to thank for this. You were sold out bitch."

The man drops her head immediately and she can remember the cold pavement rough against her temple as something in her chest grows heavy at his words.

"Suspect confirmed, cuff her."

She's having a hard time staying awake and she tries to keep the bits of what she remembered before the pounding in her head becomes too much. Somewhere she can hear a door open with its squeaky hinges, announcing she is no longer alone. A part of her is still grasping to keep those fleeting memories intact, she has to remember…

Her mouth drops open as her vision begins to fade to black.

There's an odd sense of welcoming as she allows herself to fall into the darkness…

"Wake her up."

Cold water is splashed right over her head making her jolt back into conscious and allowed a soft gasp come out of her mouth. She weakly lifts her head up and her eyes blink rapidly as the world becomes clear again.

"No dozing off here princess," a voice mocks as she grits her teeth just as the voice's owner comes into her view. Three men are in the room with her now all dressed in suits, but the one speaking is by far the bulkiest out of the three…And the one she wants to desperately wants to punch that smirk of his off his face. Despite her fading memory she knows this man is the main reason why her body hurts so bad…And his voice just makes her stomach clench in discomfort along with that sneer.

His lips twitch into a smirk as she glares up at him through her bangs, "Ah and the sleeping beauty awakens. Had a nice nap?" Her mouth opens, but no sound comes out as she feels her throat clench in pain. His smirk finally finds its way onto his face at her silence and she lets out a low growl.

She tries to raise her arms, god she wants to get a good punch right at his face!

Only to halt as cold metal digs into her wrists making her groan in frustration as she turns her head at an angle to spot the shine of the handcuffs on her wrist. She wiggles in her seat trying to break the handcuffs and grits her teeth as she feels it digging deeper at her skin. The man clicks his tongue and sighs, "You still don't get it, do you?"

She's taken off guard as his shoe makes contact to her stomach making her cry out as she topples down to the floor. Her body twitches on the impact and she can feel just how cold the floor is as she tries to get back up. She lets out a yell as the bottom of his shoe presses against her head, her eyes watering as he applies more pressure.

"Come on, cooperate you little bitch," he hisses and grinds his heel right above her temple, "Or what, you want another shot?"

Shot?

Her eyes slowly begin to notice the scattered empty needles on the floor and she feels a faint pain in her neck. Well…That explained her grogginess and weak body…The bastards…

She grinds her teeth harder as the man keeps pushing his foot right over her temple before noticing a red light in the far off distance. Her stare doesn't go unnoticed as the man looks in the direction, "Huh…What about the camera? You thinking it can be used as video evidence?"

His fingers grip through the locks of her hair and yank her up, "Well, speak up!"

She tries to move her head only to have his fingers grasp her hair tighter and she groans. Swallowing down what little saliva she has left she allows her voice to croak out an answer.

"…of course not…"

How stupid did they think she was? The treatment they were doing to her were far from what she could faintly recall humane. In fact, this was outright abusing whatever power they had with her restrained. The man stays silent before chucking, "Well aren't you a smart one? Of course, there are no laws here that will protect criminals like you!"

Her head slams down to the floor and she lets out a wheeze as he kicks her in the stomach which leads to her body curling up as she coughs in pain. The light wheezing soon halts as she notices the clipboard in his hand, "Obstruction of justice, blackmail, defamation-"

Wait…What was he going on about?

"-possession of weapons…manslaughter too? Talk about the works right?"

She stares up at him in confusion and wonders if the drugs they had forced into her made her forget something. All those…Were those…

The man stares down at her before letting out a scoff, "To think," he says as he slowly advances to her, "All those crimes were led by this slut right here…And it looked like you were enjoying every second of it huh."

Enjoying it?

She lowers her head a bit and closes her eyes as she tries to recall anything…Everything is…Everything was still so hazy. She can barely recall what memory she managed to remember earlier before they splashed her with water...How could they expect her to remember more with her so disoriented from whatever they shot in her system?

"You should know your place…"

She stays still on the floor as she can hear his feet thud against the floor towards her, "Uncuff her."

She grits her teeth as a hand roughly yanks her from the ground and the handcuffs on her wrists fall to the ground with a faint thud. There's barely time for her to enjoy the feeling of her free wrists as her back is shoved to the wall making her fall back onto her ass. Shaking her head she tries to get up only to be pushed against the wall by her shoulder as the clipboard is shoved into her face. The man is looming over her with the clipboard shoved too close to her face...

"Sign it. It's a confession under your name."

She stares at the paper, her eyes squinting as she makes out the words before letting out a grunt and slaps the board away. The man stares at her in silence for a moment, his grin gone and she can feel her lips twitching a bit before he stands up to his full height.

"I see…I need your hand to sign this, but…"

She barely has time to brace herself as his shoe lands right on top her knee making her cry out in pain as the rest of the men chuckle at her reaction. The man only grinds his shoe harder much like he did to the side of her head before waving the board in her face, "I don't care if you end up losing a leg. Get it sweetheart?"

It sickens her how he speaks to her like she's some sort of pet, but the pain is too much to bear already and she weakly raises her hand up to accept the clipboard. Once her fingers grasp it he lets off the pressure on her leg and she immediately brings both her legs to her chest. The action seems to amuse him as he chuckles before grabbing her hair again making her yelp as she's forced to stand up.

Her knees bend awkwardly as she tries to find strength to keep herself up without the support of his hand tugging her hair and presses herself against the wall as he leans in close to her face.

"Don't expect to walk out of here in one piece," he hisses as he takes out a silver pen and yanks her free hand up, " "We are going to make you understand…One must take full responsibility for their actions little lady." Her hair is released and she stumbles to keep herself up against the wall, only to collapse onto her knees in front of him.

She lets out a breathe before raising the clipboard up and gripping the pen a bit tighter as she finds the spot she has to sign.

A….K…I…R….A

K….U….R…U…S…U

She stares at her name.

Akira Kurusu….Dear Lord had she nearly forgotten her name?

Her head is hurting and she forces herself to raise her arm up to return the clipboard back to the man. She can feel all eyes on her as she continues to hold the board up, her arm shaking the longer she is forced to do so. The man from earlier chuckles before roughly yanking it out of her fingers, "Now was that so hard?"

She glares up at the man through her bangs as she watches him hand the clipboard to one of his associates before reaching down towards her.

No way was he touching her again…No.

Just as his fingers even come close to her hair she snaps her head up and bites down. The man lets out a scream as she forces herself to put as much pressure as she can until she feels a fist collide into her temple.

"THAT BITCH!"

Her lips form a smirk until she's forced back down onto the floor.

Shit…She forgot about the others in the room with them!

The way he stares down at her is like a predator ready to rip his prey into shreds, "You think you're so clever you little bitch? I think someone deserves another shot." Her eyes widen as he pulls out a needle and she tries to wiggle free from the hands on her.

No….Nonononononono!

"Sir!"

"Shit, what?!" She freezes as the door opens to reveal another man, this one wearing a guard's uniform, as he closes the door, "Um..There's uh…Sae Niijima is here…Sir."

"What?"

"She's here to talk to the suspect…."

Niijima…?

The men grow quiet and the only sounds Akira can hear are her gasps as she remains on the floor, "…Get her up." Akira is forced up onto her feet instantly, making her gag slightly as the sudden change of inertia gives her little time to adjust. One of the men quickly goes off to drag the chair she had once sat in towards a table in the far end of the room as another keeps a hold on her.

"…You got lucky," the head of the group scoffs before shoving the needle back into his pocket, "But luck will run out for you."

Akira opens her mouth, but coughs lightly instead as she is forced back into the chair. At least now she can rest her arms on the table…

The men all leave the room and she almost allows herself to lower her head to the table if not for the sudden appearance of a stranger entering the room. The woman's stiletto heels click lightly against the cemented floor before stopping at the the chair across from her. Akira weakly lifts her head up as the woman pulls the chair back and dropping her bag right beside her as she settles down.

She knows her…She knows she knows her she's familiar…

The woman's long gray hair flows over her shoulders and she pushes a stray bang out of her face as she looks at Akira with a frown though it falls as her eyes study over her slumped form at the table. Those dark red brown eyes seem to have pity in them as the woman leans forward a bit before speaking up, "Kurusu-chan…Do you remember me?"

"…Niijima-san…?"

The woman, Sae Niijima, yes…She remembers her…

Sae breathes a sigh of relief as Akira manages to keep her head up enough and talk, "I…I honestly wasn't expecting it to be you. You'll be answering my questions this time…And I can assure you, I am not going to snoop so low as those bastards."

The woman turns her head slightly and Akira wills herself to see what has the woman's attention before spotting the empty needle still on the floor. Instinctively she rubs the side of her neck as Sae returns her attention back to her. Sae's gaze falls back to the floor as her mouth goes back to a frown which gives her a look of sympathy before leaning forward towards her, "You've been through a lot. Almost anything can happen here…And I can't stop them."

Akira bites her lower lip before closing her eyes and nods in agreement as the older woman exhales loudly, "That's why I need you to answer me honestly. I don't have much time either."

She can feel her head throbbing again, but ignores it as Sae rattles down a list of questions for her. What was her objective and why cause a major incident, she knew why yet her head hurts too much to speak up…

"I didn't think it was a prank from the get-go, but I couldn't assemble a case for prosecution," Sae adds before leaning back in her seat to cross her arms, "It's because I couldn't figure out the method behind it."

"…of course you couldn't."

Her voice comes out so softly and meekly she isn't sure if it even belongs to her, but Sae continues to speak, "True. There's no way I could be convinced of such a…'world' just by reading the reports. It seems you're coherent at least Kurusu-chan."

Is she?

Her head hurts so bad…She weakly rests her forehead against the palms of her hands as Sae takes a moment to study her.

Who did Sae see in front of her?

A high school girl whose been roughed up so bad? Or something more than some high school student?

"When and where did you find out about that world? How is it even possible to seal another's heart?"

Sae's questions make her stiffen, but it's enough to get her to lift her head up again to look at the woman. Sae is still leaning forward towards her, the gentleness in her voice and face is gone as she continues to stare at Akira. This is a look of a woman on a mission for answers and Akira gazes back at her with a hardened look in her eyes as Sae speaks again, "Now tell me your account of everything. Start form the very beginning."

At the corner of her eye she can see a blue butterfly flying past her and she closes her eyes as she lets out an exhale, "Right," her voice cracks as she rests her forehand against the palm of her hand, "At the beginning…."

* * *

 _ **Jumping on the female Akira train! Whoo whoo! I apologize to any missed spelling or grammatical errors. Thank you for reading and see you next chapter!**_

 _ **I will be posting up chapters for this story on AO3 under the same name, XrosaryX!**_


	2. Chapter 2

_**What up everyone? Yup onward to chapter 2!**_

 _ **Disclaimer time: I DO NOT OWN ANYTHING PERTAINING TO THE PERSONA SERIES! IT BELONGS TO ATLUS!**_

* * *

 _The world is not as it should be._

 _It's filled with distortion,_

 _And "ruin" can no longer be avoided._

 _Those who oppose fate and desire change…_

 _From time to time, they were referred to as Tricksters._

 _You are the Trickster…_

 _Now is the time to rise against the abyss of distortion._

* * *

She opens her eyes as the back of her head hits the wall behind her, letting out a pained groan as her hands press against the spot. Akira grits her teeth and attempts to keep herself from yelling as she keeps rubbing against the bump she's sure that'll form.

"Ngh…"

Had she fallen asleep that easily? And what was that weird dream…Well it wasn't necessarily a dream, but it was a voice echoing somewhere in the darkness. Maybe she was more tired than she had thought…

Her hands rest back on her lap as she regards the other passengers in the train car around her before glancing up a bit as she hears the recorded announcement, "Ladies and gentleman thank you for riding with us today. We will be arriving to Shibuya shortly…"

Akira allows herself to sink into her seat as she tunes out the rest of the woman's words, already knowing she will get off soon. Her hands feel a bit sweaty and she forces herself to take a deep breath in to calm herself.

City…She's in Tokyo right now…

Far away from the little town she grew up in…

 ** _"Damn brat…I'll sue!"_**

The echo of that man's voice makes her flinch as the train makes a sharp turn and she lets out a loud exhale as she forces herself to stop thinking about it. Shivers run down her arms and she only clenches the fabric of her skirt as she looks ahead.

Everyone seems to be focused on their phones or are asleep, much like she had been earlier. The train car is at least quiet-

"-Are you for real? Mental shutdowns?"

"It's the truth!"

Her head turns towards two girls wearing matching uniforms, not the same as the one she has, giggling not too far from her. "But to a person though? You must really love all that occult stuff don't you?" Both girls giggle together as they continue their conversation to other.

For a brief moment Akira remembers two of her friends from her previous school in their place, her hands covering her mouth in hopes to silence the giggles her friends were trying to lure out of her. _"But not there anymore,"_ Akira reminds herself as the vision disappears in an instant, _"I'm by myself now. This isn't home…Because of…"_

She sighs and braces herself in her seat as the train comes to a halt, "Please be sure to exit in-"

The teenage girl doesn't waste a second before stepping off the train and into the crowd hurrying out once the doors open. Being inside had been nerve wrecking and nearly suffocating at the sheer amount of people around her. The city was definitely different from her old hometown, and she wasn't even close to her destination. Her feet carry her along with the crowd out of the train station and into the open streets.

The sheer amount of buildings and people surprise her and she quickly ducks out of the way of the crowd to an empty spot by a building.

"I should double check my phone to see I'm going the right way," Akira dug into her bag and pulled out her phone, "Last thing I need is to get lost." Her fingers swipe at the screen and she presses her messages to review over the last text her father had sent her with the address.

She turns her head a bit and stares at her reflection. Her mother often considered her a very average young lady, and she might as well be.

She wasn't too tall, but she wasn't too short. She was blessed to be of average height and weight compared to any other high school girl.

Her thick black hair had been carefully parted and braided into two neat braids that rested over her shoulders. The black uniform blazer fit snug around her and she was slightly proud that she had some curves to her body despite not being super model like. Her biggest pride was probably her stormy gray eyes that peered through the lenses of her glasses. Her mother commented that her eyes weren't a murky sort of gray and instead seemed to shine as bright as her name meant.

Shaking her head Akira went back to her phone before pressing a navigation app and typing in the address.

She slid back into the crowd and trained her eyes down to her phone's screen, ignoring the rest of the world around her until she noticed she was approaching the scramble crossing.

Akira can only lift her head as she takes in the sight.

The amount of people all around makes her realize just how small she is…Or rather how lost she can be if she didn't know where to go. The city was certainly….New.

A beep interrupts her thoughts and she glances down in surprise to see something that wasn't there before. An icon with an eye in red and black appears right in the center of her map and she stares at it. To her surprise the icon suddenly grows larger until it takes up most of her phone's screen and she blinks.

 _"What the heck…What's this?"_ The nail of her index finger lightly taps it and she frowns when the screen remains frozen. This time she uses the pad of her finger against the screen and taps at it again only to receive the same result. _"Is this some sort of virus? Maybe…I can restart the phone."_

Akira sighs and is about to turn the phone over in her hands when she notices something else out of place…It's quiet. Instantly her head snaps up and she manages to catch sight of everyone around her slowing down and freezing in place. "H..Huh?"

Her voice echoes around the crossing and her head turns left to right until she has to physically turn her body in all directions to be certain. It's like someone has hit pause and only she is left unaffected. "What's going on? What's-"

A quiet giggle interrupts her and she turns in the direction to spot something in the distance.

Her eyes widen as she catches sight of flames glowing in the distance and for a moment she feels an odd sense of calm. The flames are a bright blue and continue to grow and grow…Until something humanoid forms…

A face…Her face…Golden eyes…

"Move it!"

Akira blinks as her shoulder brushes against a stranger and she gasps as she glances around frantically as she tries to move out of another person's way. Everyone is moving again and she shakes her head before her finger pulls the strange icon down the screen and into the trash can.

Spacing out twice in a day, what is wrong with her?

Her parents had asked her to sleep before she left home and she did do that, maybe because she hadn't eaten so much today? That might be the case considering she only ate the wrapped up sandwich her mother hastily shoved into her bag at the last minute. She'll have to stop by somewhere and get something quick then...

Her eyes focus on her screen again as she descends the steps down to another train station as she reads over the text carefully. She steps away from the crowd again, this time taking refuge in a little space away from the main walkway and studies how her father texted out which line she has to go on next. The awkward way her father used an arrow consisting of dashes to each train line makes her smile.

The ache in her chest returns and she lightly taps her forehead with her left hand to remind herself that she isn't back home. She's alone...And she knew that her parents were right about this. If only they weren't so afraid of others...

She looks up from her phone when she hears a sigh and steps back a bit when she spots a young man leaning against the wall in front of her. He appears to be close to her age, if not a year older, and has shaggy light brown hair that hides his face as he hangs his head. Akira can't stop staring at him as he lets out another sigh and raises a gloved hand to rest against his forehead before wiping it.

He looked tired…

There's a moment of hesitation as she keeps looking at him as he continues to stand in front of her. She shouldn't bother with him, it isn't like she's a part of whatever was going in his life. Yet the more she stares at him the more compelled she is to do…something for him.

"Your heart is what got you in trouble in the first place," she faintly remembers her mother sighing before pulling her into a hug before she left on the train, "But…Wait what can I say…You've always been one to do things that seemed right to her. Regardless..."

She glances around before spotting a soda machine nearby and makes a beeline towards it.

Her hand shoves her phone into her bag before taking out her coin purse and taking a few coins out. The loud thud makes her wince a bit, but she wastes no time before taking the soda out. Making her way back to the boy she stands beside him before gently setting the can by his feet.

She hesitates for a moment and watches as he keeps his head down before he seems to notice the soda can at his feet.

"Huh? What's this?"

She can feel her face turn a little warm as he turns his head towards her and her stormy gray eyes meet his dark red ones. She quickly ducks her head down, a poor execution of a bow, before turning around quickly to blend into the crowd. From behind she can hear him stutter as he's probably looking at the can to her before calling out again.

"W-Wait a moment!"

Akira only turns her head for a moment to see him still facing in her direction, his right hand holding the drink while the other is raised as if trying to reach towards her. Her lips form a smile and she raises her hand in a wave before disappearing around the corner.

* * *

 _ **I am shipping trash, let me put that out there. I have a personalized trashcan.**_

 _ **Thank you once again for reading and once again I will be posting and updating this story up on as well!**_


	3. Chapter 3

_**Running on in with a disclaimer!**_

 _ **I DO NOT OWN PERSONA!**_

* * *

She stared at the house for a moment, looking at her phone and the name plate to be certain she was in the right place.

The sight of the backstreets of Yongen-Jaya stirred up a more comfortable feeling and it reminded her a little of the streets of her hometown if she studied it hard enough. Though it was more cramped up together, but the charm was there as she had made her way to the house.

She now stood staring at the name on the plate reading SAKURA before raising her finger to press the doorbell.

"….?"

Her finger pressed against the button again only to have her lips turned down into a frown, "What?"

Was no one home? Akira scratched the back of her head only to jump as she heard someone sigh, "Looks like no one's home." She turned around to see a deliveryman stare down at his phone, "Oh, wait. Sakura-san's usually at his café around this time. Well Leblanc's in the back alley so I should make my other deliveries first."

Leblanc…?

Well she had heard about the place, but she and her parents didn't factor in that the man wouldn't be home by the time she arrived. Akira quickly tapped against her phone as her feet lead her away from the house, there was no point in sticking around if the man wasn't home. Tucking a stray hair behind her ear she stared down as her phone gave her directions to her new destination.

"Leblanc…Leblanc," she muttered to herself as her feet lead her down the street and stopped in front of what looked to be a narrowed street. Akira glanced at her phone and noted that Leblanc was just down the path. Pushing her phone into her bag she slowly walked down the path stopping as she came upon a small building and stared up at it.

The store's sign was a tad dirty, but she could clearly read Leblanc on the red and white canopy hanging over the front. She stares at the door for a brief moment before reaching out and grasping the handle to push the door.

The café smells quite strongly of coffee as she walks in and her eyes glance about the interior curiously. The inside seems rather outdated or rather more retro compared to other coffee shops she had been. Her eyes land on an elderly couple seated in a booth with two cups of coffee in front of them. She can faintly make out the coffee still in their cups and wonders if they even took a sip of their drink. Her focus falls onto the man who is seated at the counter and she watches in interest as he stares at his newspaper.

The pen in his hand slowly taps on the paper, probably playing a crossword.

Unlike the elderly couple at the table, he doesn't appear much older and seems closer in age to her father. The apron over the pink shirt makes her tilt her head to the side. "Sa-"

"A public transit bus was driven down an opposing lane with its customers still in it!" Akira shuts her mouth as the host on the television screen suddenly raises his voice, "The citizens can't live in peace if this keeps up."

"How frightening," the elderly man sighs as his wife shakes her head with a click of her tongue, "What could be going on? Didn't something similar happen just the other day?" Akira frowns as she takes a glance over to the man at the counter. He taps his pen against the paper with a bit more force before speaking up, "Vertical is…the name of a shellfish used for farming pearls…"

"Oysters? Isn't that the answer?"

Her voice projects a bit too well and breaks whatever concentration the man has as he and the couple turn to look at her. Akira tenses and her fingers grip her bag a bit tighter before clearing her throat, "Good afternoon. I'm looking for Sojiro Sakura."

The man at the counter squints at her before blinking, "Oh right. They did say that was today." He quickly folds up his paper and sets it down before standing up. The elderly couple continues to stare at her before nodding, "Well, we'll be going now. The payment's on the table."

"Thanks for coming," the man replies as the older man continue, "This place is in the back alley, so there are no worries of a car crashing in here."

"…A what now?"

She watches in interest as the man frowns at the other's words and wonders if he was too concentrated on his crossword to not have heard the television. It wouldn't be a surprise to her; the stories of accidents in Tokyo were quite the news to share even in her hometown. She heard them enough to start tuning them out or just nod in agreement whenever someone happily boosted how safe their town was compared to how a city.

"There's been a string of those rampage accidents, you know. I just hope that none happen around here." The woman nods in agreement to her husband's words as the man just shrugs as he crosses his arms, "It's none of my concern."

"Hahaha, we'll see you next time." Akira quickly steps out of the way as the two pass her, nodding to them both slightly before watching the man study the table and sigh, "Four hours for just a single cup of joe. So…You're the kid? Akira right?"

"It's nice to meet you Sakura-san."

She hates the way her voice comes out timid and grits her teeth for a moment before straightening her posture, "I'm Akira Kurusu…Thank you for taking me in." The man, Sojiro, frowns before shrugging. The action making Akira relax slightly, but not enough to truly feel comfortable with the other.

"Just stick with Sojiro alright? As you know you'll be in my custody for a year," Sojiro speaks up before taking the cups off the table and setting them on the counter, "I was wondering what kind of unruly kid would show up, but you're the one huh? Can't say I didn't expect you being so…well. In person you're much better than what I was left with."

 _"Was he expecting me to look like a delinquent?"_ Akira can only stare at the floor for a brief moment before raising her eyes back to look at Sojiro as he looks back at her through his own glasses, _"Maybe I should have met his expectations and come in here looking like a gyaru."_

Sojiro pushes his glasses up to his eyes before speaking again, "Have you been told? A customer of mine and your parents know each other and-"

"They asked for you to take care of me…I'm aware."

The story being that her mother's old friend from college knew Sojiro and upon hearing her circumstances offered to extend a hand in helping them. Her parents had been desperate at this point and here she was. She pushes her glasses up closer to her eyes as Sojiro pauses one last time before shaking his head, "Well if you know the full story, shouldn't matter anyway. Follow me."

Adjusting her bag she hurries in step behind him as he leads her to a small staircase tucked in the very back of the café. The steps creak underneath her feet and she can see some bits of dust clinging to the top steps as they enter what she supposes is the store's attic space.

Sojiro's footsteps leave a trail on the floor as she studies the attic, taking note of the clutter made up of boxes and bags. Dust is everywhere and she glances down at her feet to notice her shoes leave marks on the wooden floor boards. Luckily the attic doesn't smell, but she can't stop her lips from forming into a tight line as Sojiro speaks up.

"This is your room. I at least gave you sheets for your bed," the man points over to the small bed set up in the furthermost corner of the room before looking at her, "Hm? What's wrong? You look like you wanna say something."

"It's cluttered," she suddenly speaks up before shutting her mouth at the narrowed look she receives from him, "But…I'm sure I can clean up the place."

"You're right about that," Sojiro answers her immediately making her shift in place as he leans against the table next to him, "I'll be leaving after I lock up each day so you'll be alone at night. No funny business though got it? Be aware I have all right to kick you out if you have a toe out of line."

"Yes sir. I'm very well aware of that," she sighs before adjusting the strap of her bag on her shoulder, "I know this."

"Well then you already know I know your situation then," Sojiro spoke as he tugged at the end of his goatee, "You were protecting a woman from a man who was forcing himself onto her. He got injured and in the process you were sued."

 _ **"Damn brat I'll sue!"**_

"That's what you get for sticking your nose in a matter between two adults. And to top it off you did injure him right?"

 _ **"Stop it! Let me go!"**_

Akira said nothing before sighing as Sojiro continued, "And now you've got a criminal record, got expelled from your high school too. The courts ordered you to transfer and move out here, which your parents approved of."

 _"More like they had no choice,"_ her right foot slowly shifting a bit until the heel rested in the center side of her left foot as he kept speaking, _"They couldn't take the gossip back home. How everyone suddenly just left or just gossiped behind our backs."_

Everyone left as soon as it got out she had a criminal record now.

Her fingers grip her bag straps tighter as she remembered the whispers of everyone back home and the way her parents suddenly grew distant. Not to say they weren't unloving, but they could have tried harder. She hears Sojiro shift a bit and glances up to watch the man stick his hands in his pockets, "It's best that you not talk about anything unnecessary while you stay here. I am in the restaurant business you know. Behave yourself for a year and as long as nothing happens your probation will be lifted."

"And if I don't, I'm sent to juvie," she finished before shifting her feet to stand up straight, "I've been warned."

"Good," Sojiro huffed before walking up to her, "Now we'll be going to Shujin Academy tomorrow. We'll introduce ourselves properly to the staff there."

Akira only nods as Sojiro tugs on his goatee again, "It's rare that anyplace would accept someone like you. Though still a waste of my Sunday."

"…I apologize for the inconvenience."

Sojiro only narrows his eyes at her before letting out a huff and nodding towards the boxes set in the middle of the attic, "Your luggage arrived earlier, I left them over there." Akira nods before taking a step forward as Sojiro begins to move towards the stairs, "I'll be downstairs."

"Yes," she replies before setting her bag down onto the couch and quickly waves her hand as a puff of dust emerges up into the air. Holding back a cough she quickly turns to the boxes and curiously looks them over.

There is a large box that she knows is filled with clothing and other necessities she needed, but the second box makes her frown as she carefully begins to open the large box first. She needs to change out of her uniform first if she was planning to clean the attic.

Settling for a fitted white V-neck sweater and faded blue skinny jeans Akira zips up her boots before advancing to the second box to open. Unlike the first this one was longer and as she gently shook it she could hear faint rattling inside similar.

Opening the box Akira sighs as she catches sight of black parts of a familiar barre she had back home along with a shoe box carefully placed at the end. "Of course she would," she sighs as she takes the shoe box out and opens it. Her mother had placed both her ballet slippers and pointe shoes carefully into the box and Akira can only smile as she runs a finger over the black leather of the slipper.

She takes the box and settles it on the couch along with her bag; she'll assemble it once she gets the rest of the room clean. Turning she folds her sleeves up before sighing, "Now where to start?"

* * *

"Seriously? I heard you making all sorts of noises up here, but I didn't think you were actually cleaning."

She turns her head towards Sojiro as he speaks up from the landing and only nods to him in greeting before getting up from the floor. She had just finished cleaning up a while ago and had spent the rest of her time assembling her barre once she found a spot for it. Almost all signs of dust and cobwebs were gone and now the room seemed to sparkle a little bit from all the dusting and mopping she had done to clean up the place.

"Sojiro-san," she stands and steps a bit closer to the man, "Did I make too much of a racket?"

"Uh no, but hm. Actually, the place doesn't look that bad. Nice job I guess," the man's lips tug into a smile as he seemed to study the room. Akira watches him pause as he regards the barre set up by the table. He tilts his head before looking at her and pointing a finger towards it, "What's this?"

"My barre," she answers before walking over and settling a hand over the metal pole, "My mother shipped it over I guess. I told her I only needed my clothes, but I guess she wanted me to have it here."

"Barre? You uh do ballet?"

Her lips tug into a smile at his question before nodding, "It's something I've been doing. Though I doubt I'll ever be a professional."

"Huh, well just don't get too loud up here," Sojiro tells her before taking one last look at the barre curiously, "Didn't peg you for a dancer…" Akira only shrugs before dropping her hand from the barre as he continues, "Why don't you go to bed for tonight? I'm going to close up shop and get myself out of here."

"Good night then Sojiro-san," Akira answers as the man nods before making his way to the stairs again, "Oh and, don't get sick from staying up to late. I'm not looking after you if you do, got it?" She nods before stopping a moment and smiling, "What's so fun-"

Sojiro halts as she carefully slides her right leg behind her and raises her hands up before bowing to him. The movement is something simple to her, but she doubts it's anything normal to Sojiro as she straightens up, "I'll keep that in mind. Good night."

The man stares at her in silence before shaking his head, "Night." She holds back a giggle as the man leaves before taking her phone out and quickly snapping a picture of the barre to send to her mother.

Once sent she quickly sets her phone down on the bed before quickly undoing her braids allowing her long hair to fall out in waves around her shoulders.

Time for bed.

Her phone rings out from its spot as she pulls loose black shirt over her head and she frowns, her mother didn't text back that quickly…

Walking over she picks up her phone and frowns as a familiar red eye app appears on the screen and runs her fingers through her hair, "That's weird. It's back on my phone again. I was sure I deleted it. I better get rid of it…"

Her finger presses against the screen and she drags the app down into the trashcan at the bottom before sighing. "I should go to sleep now. It's been a long day…" With that Akira sets her phone on the window sill and walking towards the end of the room to switch off the lights. Her eyes survey the attic one last time before sighing, she'll be staying here for a year...She might as well make the most of it.

With that she turns the lights off.

* * *

 _ **Akira knowing ballet, Akira knowing ballet!**_

 _ **Just throwing out a personal head canon of mine in this. Hopefully you all enjoy me chanting this out in the background ha ha. Personally for male Akira I have a bit of a preference of him knowing gymnastics and for female Akira I just like the idea of her being a ballerina.**_

 _ **I'll go back into my trashcan now ha ha.**_


	4. Chapter 4

_**Disclaimer: I DO NOT OWN ANYTHING PERTAINING TO THE PERSONA SERIES!**_

 _ **ALSO!**_

 _ **I SEE YOU AKIRA! I SEE YOU DOING A PIROUETTE! ATLUS YOU DID A THING! At this point Atlus might as well just take my money.**_

* * *

This is a dream….This is a dream…This has to be a dream.

She shivers as she clings to the bars of the cell as she attempts to keep herself warm in the black and white striped uniform she wears. It's oddly very familiar to that of a prisoner uniform, granted the style of the outfit wasn't what a real uniform was.

The shirt, while covering her upper body, had a wide collar making it slip over her shoulders as she shifted her weight while she stood. It forced her to move the fabric over one shoulder to the next when she felt it slip a bit too far. Instead of long pants she wore shorts that peeked out slightly under the hem of her large shirt and only made her self-conscious knowing that it looked like she wasn't wearing any bottoms.

With her legs exposed to the cold air she kept shivering and the weight of the shackle on her left ankle felt heavy as she stood.

The shoes on her feet weren't normal shoes, but instead some mockery of her black ballet slippers. The black leather was torn and the soles seemed to be worn out so thin that she might as well been barefoot in the cell. Even the black ribbons were too loose around her ankles and the ones on her left seemed to only be held in place thanks to the metal shackle.

The tiny size of the cell made her shake the bars hard again as she stared at the two twin girls who stood in front of the cell, their backs turned to her despite the obvious sneer they had when she had come up to the bars. Both wore identical blue uniforms along with similar platinum blond hair and gold eyes when she had seen them at first.

Sisters?

She shakes her head before turning her attention to the center of the room. Both girls were facing towards him and Akira shudders a bit as the goblin like man at the table continues to slowly tap his nails against the wood. He had been staring at her for a long time since she had woken up and hadn't made a sound as she kept shaking the bars.

Those wide eyes were staring right through her and she can't help, but remember the stories of monsters hiding underneath her bed as a child. She swallows loudly just as the man finally moves, extending a hand out to her as he spoke.

"Trickster, welcome to my Velvet Room."

"…Velvet..Room? Ah!"

Akira flinches as something hits the bars creating the sounds of sparks before looking to one of the girls on her right who smirks up at her. "Well you've finally spoken Inmate, it's about time!" Now facing her Akira can make out she wears an eye patch over her right eye and her hair is carefully styled underneath her hat into two perfect buns.

She backs away a bit as this girl hits her bars again and notes the faint sound of sparks is coming from the baton she wields in her hands.

"We were thinking you were asleep, but you've finally come to!"

"The you in reality is currently fast asleep," the other girl speaks up from her left and Akira watches in interest as the girl's braid swings a bit as she pivots to face her. She wears an eye patch over her left eye and unlike her other counterpart holds a clipboard. Not so dangerous, but Akira remains silent as she continues, "You are only experiencing a dream."

So it was a dream…

With that she loosens her hold on the bars, but cries out as the twin with the baton hits them again, "You're in the presence of our master, stand up straight!"

Akira twitches, but does as she's told as the man chuckles at the young girl's words before he rests his hand back down on the table, "Welcome, it's a pleasure to make your acquaintance. This place exist between dream and reality, mind and matter. It is a room that only those who are bound by a 'contract' may enter."

 _"I don't remember signing anything,"_ Akira frowns as the man's fingers begin to tap on the table, _"Should I…Should I act dumb?"_ She eyes the man and leans forward a bit against the bars as his smile grows, "I am Igor, the master of this place. Remember it well my dear."

"Why am I here?" The girl with the baton lets out a huff at the question before Igor chuckles, "I summoned you to speak of important matters…It involves your life as well."

That catches her attention.

"What do you mean? What important matters?" she grips the bars tighter as the man looks away from her and studies the room they're in, "Still, this is quite a surprise. The state of this room reflects the state of your own heart. To think a prison would appear as such."

Was he ignoring her?

She leans away as his wide eyes return to stare at her and she shudders a little as his grin widens again. It's as if he knew that she was doubting his attention to her and lightly tugs on her collar to cover her left shoulder as he speaks up, "You truly are a 'prisoner' of fate. In the near future, there is no mistake that ruin awaits you."

"Ruin?"

Her breath hitches up a bit as his fingers tap against the table again and she doesn't miss how his shoulders seem to raise up a bit at her reaction. The man chuckles before shaking his head a bit, "Worry not," Igor tells her and rests his chin against his other hand as he keeps tapping the table, "There is a means to oppose such a fate. You must be…rehabilitated, towards freedom. That is your only means to avoid ruin."

She swallows a bit as he extends out his hand towards her making her back up a step as his grin only grows.

"Now…Do you have the resolve to challenge the distortion of the world?"

"…I'd rather avoid ruin."

Something in her words makes her feel an odd shiver race down her spine as she stares at Igor. There was something different now that she had said those words out loud and for a moment she felt she had just brought down the hammer on a nail sealing her fate...

She snaps out of her thoughts as Igor chuckles and his fingers slowly curl towards his palm, "Then allow me to observe the path of your rehabilitation, my Trickster." Akira inhales loudly as she watches his fingers spray out on the surface of the table before tapping again before jerking back as the two young girls in front of her cell suddenly turn to her.

"Ah yes, pardon me," Igor speaks up again with a chuckle, "I haven't introduced the others, to your right is Caroline and to your left, Justine. They serve as wardens here."

 _"Wardens? These two?"_ Well, it did explain why the baton in Caroline's hands looked rather suspicious with its cackling every time she hit the cell's bars. Akira stiffened as Caroline's lips twisted up into a smirk, "Ha! Try to struggle as hard as you like!"

"The duty of wardens is to protect inmates," Justine spoke up while her face remained expressionless as she regarded Akira, "We are also your collaborators. That is…If you remain obedient."

She keeps her lips in a tight line as Igor chuckles as her eyes rest on him again, "I shall explain these two's roles on another occasion. It seems the night is waning, it's almost time."

"Time? Time for what?" Akira grips the bars tighter and she fights the urge to press herself a bit closer and instead tries to push against the bars. The metal rattles as she shakes the bars, "What are you talking about?!" Her voice is much louder and echoes throughout the room as Igor's fingers stop tapping against his table, "Take your time to slowly come to understand this place. We shall surely meet again, eventually…"

Her body relaxes a bit as she begins to have a feeling that nothing bad would happen only to step back as a shrill ring echoes around them.

"Time's up!" She looks at Caroline whose hands are behind her back as she stands at attention before her, "Now hurry up and go back to sleep!" Akira looks towards Justine who regards her with a blank expression before nodding towards the cot in her cell. She slowly backs away before settling down onto it and exhales loudly as she closes her eyes.

"Fret not Trickster…You will return."

Akira inhaled loudly before feeling her body suddenly sinking down into an odd sensation of heaviness. Before she can even exhale, her entire body tenses up as her eyes snap open as the alarm on her phone rings out through the attic.

Another dream…Right?

Akira swings her legs over her bed before allowing herself to hang her head as she lets out a loud exhale.

"…Ruin…Rehabilitation? What sort of dream was that?"

Either way, there's no point in thinking it over…Not right now.

She reaches out to her cell phone and looks at the time. It's early in the morning, very early, and she should get ready to head out with Sojiro to the school. Thoughts about twin girls with eye patches and a weird goblin man can wait until after she gets this done. Lightly ruffling her bangs a bit she lets out another yawn before moving.

From her bed she makes her way over to her bag that still rests on the couch to retrieve her hair brush. Her uniform is still neatly folded on top of a chair which gives her an easier amount of time to get dressed quickly. By the time she's done braiding her hair back into their usual two neat plaits she can hear footsteps coming up the stairs.

"Huh, looks like you're up."

"Good morning Sojiro-san," she greets him as he glances around her room briefly before nodding a bit to her.

"Morning. We'll be heading out to the school to introduce yourself to the faculty."

Straight to the point this early in the morning huh?

Biting back her tongue she only nods as Sojiro pushes his hat a bit as he keeps talking, "The school is in the Aoyma district. It'll cost you a bit to ride the train there and the route transfers are a pain." Akira blinks before reaching towards her bag and pulling out her wallet only to hear Sojiro clear his throat, "I'll be driving you there, but only for today."

She stares at the man as he narrows his eyes at her and she drops her wallet back into her bag, "Thank you..Sojiro-san." The man grunted before lightly tugging at his goatee, "It's no problem…Anyway, let's get going."

Akira nodded in agreement before grabbing her bag and following the man down the stairs as he tilted his hat a bit, "Can't believe I'm spending my day like this…"

* * *

Shujin Academy stood tall and proud…A very tall building made of concrete with a single school gate that made Akira feel more inclined to agree with the old saying.

School was indeed a prison.

Her eyes stared at her shoes as she waited for Sojiro to finish writing down on a few papers before slowly shifting her left foot towards her right in an attempt to stand at third position. A faint coughing interrupted her concentration and she lifted her head up as the principal spoke.

The balding man's beige colored suit seemed more yellow to Akira as she attempted to keep eye contact with the man as he cleared his throat again, "To reiterate again, just so we're clear. You will be immediately expelled if you cause any problems." Akira only nodded her head in agreement as Sojiro sighed beside her and fiddled with his hat. She stole a quick glance over to him as he stared up at the ceiling, "Honestly I hesitated on accepting someone like you," the principal continued, "But there were some circumstances on our side. You may have done a variety of things of hiding in your hometown, but you will behave yourself here."

"…Yes sir," Akira gripped the edge of her skirt a little tighter as the man huffed at her reply and resisted the urge to grit her teeth.

It wasn't a no brainer that she had been expecting this sort of treatment yet the very reality of it only made her blood boil just a little.

"If you are thrown out from our school, there will be o place for you to go. Keep that in mind young lady."

"Yes," was her only reply as he huffed again before redirecting his attention to the woman that had been standing by him since she and Sojiro had entered the office, "This is the teacher in charge of your class."

The woman looked as indifferent as Sojiro as she finally looked over at Akira and she couldn't miss the blank expression as she spoke, "I'm Sadayo Kawakami." Akira watched as her new teacher fished out something from the pocket her denim skirt and slamming it down on the desk, "Here's your student ID. Be sure to read the rules as well. Any violations will send you straight to the guidance office and if you do cause problems…I won't be able to protect you."

Akira reached over to the desk and hung her head slightly to avoid making eye contact with the two adults in front of her as Kawakami spoke up a little louder, "That IS your promise, yes. Principal Kobayakawa?"

"Yes, she is responsible for all her actions."

Akira's fingers gripped her ID tightly as her new teacher let out a loud sigh, "But really though, why me? There should've been better candidates."

Was she invisible to them?

Were they honestly talking about her while she was still in the office, in front of her?

She stared at the ID in her hand as the two spoke regarding Kawakami's misfortune of being the only teacher of her grade with an open spot. If they were going to talk about her, she might as well try to say something right? She could finally say something other than the confirmations that she was aware of her situation or that she was listening. Something inside of her was boiling and Akira's mouth was slowly beginning to open until Sojiro loudly coughed, "If you're done explaining things, mind if we get going? I got a store to get back to."

Never had she thought hearing Sojiro's annoyed tone sound like a grace from God.

Her boiling temper quickly simmered and she took a moment to let out an exhale as she shoved her student ID into her bag. She was even starting to take a few steps back and ready to pivot right around to go to the door. Her fingers were already reaching out to the door knob until the principal spoke up again, "Sakura-san, please keep a close eye on her. Don't let her cause any trouble…"

Again something stirred inside of her and she resisted the urge to toss a glare over her shoulder to the man. Instead she closed her eyes and breathed in quietly, _"Don't react,"_ she told herself as she faintly heard Sojiro let out a low huff and peered over her shoulder to watch him look at the other man, "Well…I'll be sure to have a serious talk about the situation she's in." Sojiro gave a nod before turning around to look at her and giving her an eye roll. The action surprised her and she blinked as he loudly sighed, "Well c'mon. Let's get a move on then."

"R-Right," she answered before quickly grabbing the door knob and opening the door for him as he looked at her with a quirked brow, "What are you doing? Go on ahead first, even if you are a kid you're still a girl. I have manners."

"S-Sorry Sojiro-san," Akira quickly walked through the door first as Sojiro held it open for her as Kawakami's voice spoke up loudly just before he closed it, "Come to the faculty office when you arrive at school tomorrow. I'll show you to your classroom."

She merely nodded as Sojiro shut the door behind them and sighed, "They're treating you like some kinda nuisance…I guess that's what it means to have a criminal record." The man walked ahead of her as she gently tugged on the strap of her bag, "Turns out your past follows you wherever you go."

"I'm…Aware," Akira answered before silence fell on the two of them as they made their way down the hall.

She stared briefly at Sojiro as he studied their surroundings as they began to make their way downstairs, had he spoken up because he noticed her temper flaring? She stopped on the last two steps of the staircase before speaking up, "I already have a guess of what you'll say, but…I'm assuming if I get in trouble with the school and get expelled you will kick me out correct?"

"Sharp girl aren't you?" Sojiro answered as he turned to look at her, "We've already had this talk about the mess you're in when you first arrived. So I won't repeat everything again obviously."

"I understand. I'll be careful Sojiro-san," she lightly tugged at the ends of one of her braids before grasping the railing and jumping over the last two steps. The man jolted a bit at her action before letting out a scoff, "Watch it! I thought you were a ballerina…You want to risk hurting your ankle!?"

Akira blinked as Sojiro quickly cleared his throat before putting his hat back on, "Young people these days…Well. Nothing else to see here, school never changes at all huh? We're going home so…Pick up the pace alright?"

She nods before stopping in her steps and giving Sojiro a grin as he hears her footsteps halt, "What now-"

He immediately steps back as she passes by him quickly, her arms slightly stretched open as she moved forward ahead of the man in a chasse. She reaches the front entrance way and quickly turns around to face him before doing the same bow she had done to him last night. Sojiro stares at her before slowly shaking his head and hurrying himself over, "You're…An odd one. You can't just dance everywhere you know."

Akira only smiled as she followed after her guardian.

* * *

 _ **Still a bit of a slow roll with the story, but we will eventually pick up!**_

 _ **I apologize for any spelling or grammatical errors as well!**_


End file.
